Turkey summons U.S. consulate worker for questioning: Anadolu

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish authorities summoned a U.S. consulate worker to testify on Monday over his relatives’ alleged links to last year’s failed coup attempt, state-run Anadolu news agency said, days after the arrest of another consulate employee.

Anadolu said the suspect was wanted for questioning after his wife and daughter were detained in the Black Sea city of Amasya. It did not say whether he had complied with the summons.

The man’s wife and daughter were detained over alleged links to the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, Anadolu said, blamed by Ankara for orchestrating the abortive putsch. The two were later brought to Istanbul for legal procedures, it said.

“U.S. consulate worker N.M.C., husband and father of the suspects in question, has no diplomatic immunity and has been called to the prosecutor’s office to testify,” Anadolu quoted a statement from the Istanbul prosecutor’s office as saying.

On Sunday, the U.S. mission in Turkey and the Turkish mission in Washington cut back visa services after Metin Topuz, a U.S. consulate employee, was arrested in Turkey last week. Washington said the charges linking him to Gulen were baseless.

The prosecutor’s office said that testimony from Topuz pointed to the two suspects detained in Amasya being high-ranking members of Gulen’s network. Gulen has denied any role in the failed coup.